"Our sun is dying. Mankind faces extinction. Seven years ago the Icarus project sent a mission to restart the sun but that mission was lost before it reached the star. Sixteen months ago, I, Robert Capa, and a crew of seven left earth frozen in a solar winter. Our payload: a stellar bomb with a mass equivalent to Manhattan Island. Our purpose: to create a star within a star. Eight astronauts strapped to the back of a bomb. My bomb. Welcome to Icarus Two."

It is a beautiful example of science fiction as originally defined: the human spirit meeting the challenges of nature by embracing technology and reason. The major themes in the film are science vs. fundamentalism, isolation vs. community, and the human response to imminent extinction.

The first half of the film is essentially character introspection. The second half then switches rather abruptly into a space slasher film, while still maintaining its melancholy tone.

Tropes in this film:

A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Averted. Icarus II's on-board computer is important to the film, yet does its job exactly as it's supposed to, responds properly to override commands, and trying to save it (as opposed to trying to stop it) is an important part of the film's climax.

Though arguably, this is what Icarus is for, operating the spacecraft more safely than a human could manage. Trey proved that when he overrode Icarus and put the mission in jeopardy in the first place.

All There in the Manual: You'll need to go to the website to find out the characters' back-stories, how the bomb would work and even why the sun was dying in the the first place.

Artificial Outdoors Display: The space crew finds relaxation and comfort on their long way towards the sun by using personalized 3D holodeck programs which place them in a forest or other familiar environments.

Artistic License – Astronomy: The first Icarus supposedly vanished on its mission and no one knew where to. Even without communications or radar, earth-based telescopes exist that can image objects out at the Earth-sun distance far smaller than the Icarus shown in the film. Astronomers should have been able to track every moment of Icarus I's lifetime. If it disappeared, they would know exactly where it disappeared and where it was headed.

Badass Bookworm: Mace. Presumably one of the top computer engineers on Earth, his job is to be able to repair computer circuitry so complicated it had to be designed by other computers. In a way, all of the characters are this, for getting on the ship in the first place, but Mace quickly runs away with the title.

Barrier-Busting Blow: Cassie is hiding from Pinbacker when the ship's lights suddenly come on. Pinbacker's hand immediately smashes through the glass to grab Trey's dead body, giving Cassie a chance to stab Pinbacker before he realises his mistake.

Beard of Sorrow/Important Haircut: Mace has a stubbly beard and unkempt hair, showing that he's suffering from lowered morale. When he finally gets control of himself, he shows up clean-shaven, with a fresh buzzcut.

Bittersweet Ending: And just short of Shoot the Shaggy Dog because Capa actually succeeded in detonating the bomb and restarting the Sun; however, all the events in the movie could have been avoided have they not deviated from their plan to retrieve the Icarus I's bomb as not only Icarus I's main computer was useless, and thus unable to be used, but in the end, it was not even needed. Had they all listened to Mace...

Bloody Handprint: These, and bloody footprints, are left behind by Pinbacker wherever he goes. Also a signal that he's already beaten Capa to the payload.

Body Horror: Pinbacker's extreme exposure to the Sun has cooked his flesh. The burning is so bad that, during a fight scene, the skin on one of his arms is torn off.

As his obsession with the sun deepens, Searle also displays signs of bad sunburn- and though it's not nearly as bad as Pinbacker's, it's still pretty gross: following Kaneda's death, he can clearly be seen picking bits of skin off his face; while observing the sun later, his lips seem livid and bloody, and his face and neck are clearly blistered in places.

California Doubling: The final scene was shot in Stockholm, Sweden, appropriately just outside the Swedish Film Institute, though the in-universe setting is revealed to be Sydney.

Cassandra Truth: Mace. He's not predicting the future, rather just a path of action the crew should take, and is dismissed most of the time. He's proven right through the movie.

Chekhov's Gun: Mace drops the spanner in the coolant tank and freeze-burns his hand trying to get it out. The computer warns him that the mainframe panel can't stay out of the coolant for long. This makes the scene where Mace has to dive bodily into the coolant tank to repair the mainframe panel all that more excruciating to watch.

When Mace goes to kill Trey, there are alreadytwoscalpels missing from the drawer. Presumably Trey took one, but who took the other? Answer: Pinbacker

Cold Equation: Most crew members consistently do this given the circumstances, but Mace most notably. He states that they should not deviate from the original mission to attempt a rescue on the Icarus I, due to the risk involved. In fact, in just about every major decision from thereon after, he provides the most logical solution, and is always right.

Done (on a literal level) by Icarus early on; the computer risks the lives of Kanada and Capa, as their lives do not take priority over the fire rapidly depleting the long-term oxygen stores.

When four of the crewman are trapped on Icarus I and there's only one spacesuit, Mace and Searle immediately start putting Capa (the only man who can fire the bomb) into the suit, ignoring the protests of their commander. Mace though figures out how to Take a Third Option (though only he and Capa survive).

Then the crew realise they only have enough oxygen to complete their mission if one of them dies. The suicidally depressed Trey is an obvious candidate to be killed, and all but one of the crew votes to do so. Although they'd previously decided they needed a unanimous vote, Mace goes to kill him anyway only to find he's already dead.

Democracy Is Flawed: When the crew is discussing the option of diverting the mission to intercept the Icarus I so they can retrieve the payload and possibly save their crew if they are still alive, Mace wants to put it up to a vote. Searle points out that they are not a democracy, but a group of astronauts and scientists on a mission to save mankind. Therefore they shouldn't arbitrarily make their decision by popular concensus but to make the most informed decision possible, made by the person best qualified to understand the theory and complexities of the payload delivery, physicist Capa.

Deus Ex Nukina: Humanity constructs a nuclear device so big that virtually all of Earth's accesible fissile material went into making it. However, nuclear technology is only a part of the bomb. In the context of the movie, the device seems to be very theoretical, and very reliant on technology/equations going far beyond what we know now.

Their real target is a lump of theoretical matter at the centre, called a Q-ball, which is moderating the fusion reaction and will eventually stop it entirely. They hoped that the bomb could transmute or destroy it, thus allowing fusion to get going again. If it turns out that a Q-ball really can exist, that'd make it scientifically pretty accurate actually.

Dissonant Serenity: Pinbacker's log entry about a miniature meteor shower which almost barbecued his crew.

Trey is later found in this state, but it's been staged. Danny Boyle's commentary reveals that Pinbacker murdered Trey and made it look like a suicide. When Rose Byrne's character grabs a surgical knife later, one is already missing from the drawer.

Eiffel Tower Effect: Subverted. In the final scene, the Real Life view is dominated by the Kaknäs Tower, Stockholm's tallest building at 155 metres, and one of its most famous landmarks. However, the tower was digitally deleted, and replaced by the Sydney Opera House, properly displaying the Endless Winter.

Foreshadowing: Characters all die in a way relevant to their interests/role as previously shown: Mace freezes in coolant he worked with, Searle burns in the presence of the sun he obsessed with, Corazon in the garden she tended for and Capa in the bomb he wished he could see.

There's also the fact that both Cassie and Capa have had recurring nightmares of falling into the sun several times during the beginning of the film. They're the only two to survive long enough to deliver the payload, falling into the sun like in the dream.

Capa coldly states that in relation to one crewmember's suicidal tendencies versus the whole of the human race is nothing. In the finale he does not hesitate to sacrifice himself to throw the bomb to save humanity.

Forgotten Phlebotinum: When they are losing oxygen they seem to forget that they have spacesuits on board. It may not have bought them a LOT of time, but every little bit helps.

Go Mad from the Revelation: Pinbacker lost his mind after glimpsing the sun for too long. In his final log entry, he announces the termination of the Icarus-1 mission, and we see that he's already covered in third-degree burns by that point (though he still has hair). Searle is a glimpse into that slippery slope; he opens the film cheerfully basking in the sun's rays, and soon becomes addicted.

Gory Discretion Shot: The heavily burned Pinbacker appears only in blurred, distant or very brief shots. Later averted when skin is graphically torn from his arm.

Heroic Sacrifice: Plenty. Kaneda, then Searle, then not Harvey, then Mace, and finally Capa. It could be argued that the whole crew gets a credit for this trope. Once they realize there's hardly enough oxygen to get to the detonation point near the sun, let alone to make the trip back to Earth, they all accept rather gracefully that they will die to save the human race.

Hollywood Science, but not to the extent of They Just Didn't Care, as they had a science advisor on staff in an attempt to make it seem remotely plausible. Danny Boyle intended to leave out things like visible stars, slow-motion zero gravity, and sound in space, but left them in because the movie just didn't feel right otherwise. The science is actually about fifty-fifty. The oxygen garden is a very likely component of long distance space travel. In an actual space ship, the crew would be able to hear the ship creaking from the inside, as they did in the movie. The "Dead Zone" around the sun is Truth in Television; recall that the primary effect of solar flares is to disrupt electronic communications like HAM and AM radios. The way that two crewmen escaped Icarus I without spacesuits is also scientifically plausible, though just as unlikely to work perfectly as it was in the movie. Also, try not to think about the effects of gravity in the climactic scene. It's a bit...wonky.

In a scene that was left out of the movie, but can be seen in the DVD extras, Capa explains that the payload generates its own gravity. What was left in the movie was another scene in which Capa explains that the payload will move at such a speed in its final moments that close to the sun, that all physics in fact will get... wonky. Perhaps not enough info for it to be a Chekhov's Gun, but enough so that from the movie's perspective, it's not that unexpected.

The science advisor, Professor Brian Cox - PhD, OBE, D:Ream - said that he would tell them how thing would really happen and where they were going wrong, but then it was up to Danny Boyle et al decide on it, and if the story was better off if they bent the real science, that's what they did. He considered that the right way to do it.

Explaining why "visible stars a science fail" from above, because it's more a visual arts trope conflicting with science: the sun only looks like a flaming ball when viewed through special filters/computerized images. Depicting exterior shots with a sun like that is forgetting the fact that with all the visible light a star puts out at the local system range, you wouldn't see anything, you'd literally be blinded by all the light. This is depicted somewhat in-story when one of the crew members asks to have the viewport filters turned down by a small fraction and the room is almost completely washed out by all the extra light.

Kill 'em All: By the final shot over a simulated Sydney, every member of the crew of Icarus-1 and Icarus-2 are dead; Capa, Pinbacker and arguably Cassie are the last three, and they all die when the payload goes.

Laser-Guided Karma: Paranoid Harvey rants that the crew's out to get him, being that he's the Communications Officer in a dead zone of space and thus excess baggage. His corpse later collides into the ship's antenna.

The awesome sight of the sun drives several characters insane. Its rays burn flesh and threaten to torch the whole spaceship. Ironically, the story is about a dying sun and the Earth's desperate need to restore its life-supporting rays.

We never get a good look at Pinbacker, partly due to the crew's delirium and also because of his portrayal as a "being of light".

Literally Shattered Lives: Harvey's frozen corpse collides with Icarus-2's antenna, shattering his arm. The rest of him drifts into direct sunlight, whereupon it crumbles to dust.

Logo Joke + Bait and Switch: The FOX Searchlight logo plays backwards, ending on a shot of the Sun, which turns out to be the Sun reflected in the Icarus II heat shield.

Million-to-One Chance: The crew is perfectly aware that, once the Icarus reaches the Sun's horizon, everything about the mission goes into the realm of the theoretical. Not even the computer can calculate the outcome. It works, of course.

Mood Whiplash: As good as the film is, it's notorious for how much its third act contrasts in mood and theme to the first two. If the first two acts are, say, Session 9, the third act is Hellraiser.

Multinational Team: Based on ideas of where the global community's space programs would be in 70 years, the Icarus mission is a mix of Americans, Chinese, and Japanese astronauts. The first Icarus ship had Pinbacker, who was apparently supposed to be South African (his accent is easier to place in his recording).

Neck Lift: Pinbacker effortlessly hoists Capa and shakes him like a rag doll. Justified due to the comparatively low gravity of the payload room.

Never Trust a Trailer: The film's tv ads pitched it as a horror film. In actual fact the horror element is something of a twist near the end of the film. When you go in expecting a horror you will end up waiting an hour for the plot to get going.

Nightmare Fetishist: Pinbaker's blasé log entry regarding a pin-sized meteor shower which nearly scuttled the ship, killed the crew, and ended the human race. He even describes it as "beautiful", which earns an eyebrow raise from fellow Captain Kaneda.

No OSHA Compliance: Removing the main computer from its coolant bath causes the lights to go out. So much for redundant systems.

Only Sane Man: Mace. He may not be the most sensitive guy on the ship but everything he said was true and if they had all just listened to him from the beginning, they might have been okay.

Opaque Lenses: Searle's aviator sunglasses, hinting at his increasingly-long periods of staring fixated at the sun.

Sci-Fi Writers Have No Sense of Scale: The bomb is described as having a mass equivalent to Manhattan Island, or (assuming 1 km depth and the density of granite) about 2.43×10¹⁵ kg. The Sun's mass is just under 2×10³⁰ kg, or a quadrillion times larger. Even if the sought after Q-ball were 10 billion times smaller in volume than the Sun (akin to comparing a human to a large amoeba) it would still have a radius of over 300 km.

Shoot the Dog: The characters eventually resolve to resort to this in order to preserve the mission. They decide to kill their suicidal crewmate in order to leave enough oxygen to complete the mission. Capa puts it best, "What are you asking? That we weigh the life of one man versus the future of all mankind? Kill him." It's the fact the he says it so casually makes you go damn.

The three monoliths in the final scene can be interpreted as a homage to 2001: A Space Odyssey. This is an actual sculpture on set in Stockholm, named Protest, commemorating May Day demonstrations.

Shown Their Work: The film is very well-researched. Small details of every aspect of manned space travel (and the projected future of it) appear in the film, from the psychology of a crew living together to the science of astronauts growing their own food onboard a spaceflight.

Skeleton Crew: Averted when Capa finds the crew of the Icarus I, huddled together and burned to a crisp in the observation room.

Slasher Movie: It certainly flirts with the genre when the homicidal and horribly disfigured Pinbacker appears.

Sliding Scale of Silliness Versus Seriousness: Danny Boyle responded to criticism on the surreal nature of a burned Pinbacker appearing near the end by stating it was intentional; he did so to break away from the constant focus on realism in the first two acts.

Space Is Cold: Among the nail-biting uncertainties in an Improvised Microgravity Maneuvering scene. Another is that the four crew exploring the wreckage of Icarus I are aware: only three can attempt the jump back to Icarus II. They'll survive...if nothing goes wrong.

Starship Luxurious: NASA advisors to the movie spoke out in favor of this trope. The cost of roomy quarters, in terms of air and mass, would be more than balanced out by the benefits to a crew's sanity on a long mission. Besides, they were towing a bomb the mass of Manhattan, so a little additional space would hardly be noticeable. As evidenced when they actually go into the part of the ship with the bomb inside, there's plenty of space around the bomb itself... and breathable air, too. Ultimately, the movie retained a submarine-ish feel, but toned it down.

Straw Nihilist: The contrast between the Icarus-1 and Icarus-2 crews. The former (or at least one of them) succumbed to the bleak sun and decided there was nothing to be gained from reigniting it. Capa risks becoming as deadened as Pinbacker, but ultimately is awed by the sun. Word of God compares this to the astronomers consulted during the making of this film; when confronted with the vastness of the cosmos, some scientists feel immensely liberated. Others find themselves emotionally crushed.

Pinbacker: We are nothing... but dust.

Stupid Good: After a dramatic incident, it turns out there isn't enough oxygen for the crew to survive and complete the mission. The solution would be to kill one of them, who has gone insane — with his death they would spare enough oxygen to complete their task. The female protagonist, Cassie, takes the moral high ground and refuses to give her consent to the killing. Keep in mind that not only it was the sacrifice of one person versus the destruction of Earth and of the whole human race on it, but that they were all going to die anyway, since they had no chance to go back to Earth, whether they completed the mission or not.

The Sun Is Just Awesome: Searle in particular believes this, but he's not the only one. When the captain realises he won't get back to the airlock in time, he turns to watch the Sun's fire advancing across the heat shield.

Supporting Protagonist: While Cillian Murphy receives top billing and Capa is certainly presented as the main character, Mace is much more the traditional hero.

There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Harvey misses the hole then freezes out there in seconds, his frozen corpse hitting an antenna, thus breaking his arm before flying outside the shield, reduced to dust in seconds by the Sun.

Trailers Always Spoil: The last few minutes of the film are in it. Sure, they're out of context, but still...

Plus the trailer spoils the fact that Cillian Murphy's character Robert Capa is one of the last 4 to survive, though most probably saw that coming.

Viewers Are Geniuses: The premise might make a bit more sense with some of the background material that uses a real physics-based description (they weren't "restarting" the sun but destroying a particle chunk that was prematurely killing the sun), but there was no way to explain that without invoking this trope. So it was a kind of "screwed either way" situation.

Icarus: Capa, you are dying. All crew are dying.Capa: Yes, we're dying. As long as we live long enough to deliver the payload. Icarus: Capa, warning:you will not live long enough to deliver the payload.

[Icarus states there isn't enough oxygen for the whole crew to make the drop] Capa: Trey is dead, there are only four crew members. Icarus: Negative.Capa: Affirmative, Icarus, four crew members; Mace, Cassy, Corazon and me. Icarus: Five crew members.

What Did You Expect When You Named It ____??: Whose bright idea was it to name the ship going on a mission to the Sun on which the fate of Mankind depends the Icarus? (you know what happened to Icarus, right?) And worse, to stick with the name after losing that ship and naming the second one Icarus II? Danny Boyle apparently named it like that on purpose, to keep with the bleak nature of the film and the International aspect of the ship. According to him, "[Americans would] call it Spirit of Hope or Ship of Destiny. They'd call it something optimistic... in America they would sacrifice all plausibility, because there would be hope."

What Is One Man's Life in Comparison?: The film arguably contains a number of examples, but in one instance a character comes close to saying this trope's name verbatim when the crew is deciding whether to kill a suicidal crewman in order to save oxygen.

White Male Lead: Out of the 8 main characters, 3 are Asian and 1 is Maori, but the main protagonist is played by white actor Cillian Murphy and only 1 of the first 5 deaths is a white guy.

You Are in Command Now: Harvey is promoted to Captain following his predecessor's demise. Ironic, since he's the Communications officer on a ship with a useless communications array, leaving him the most expendable person on board.

It doesn't last long, anyway, but it isn't entirely clear who takes over upon his death.

TV Tropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. Privacy Policy